The Art Newspaper

Recession fuels attendance of artist sites and historic homes

In the UK and the US, visitor numbers to National Trust properties and artist homes have seen a sharp rise

By Brook S. Mason. Web only
Published online: 29 July 2009

new york. Just when the withering economy is shrinking art, antiques and design sales, there is a rise in attendance and interest in historic homes and artist sites in both the US and the UK.

“There is definitely something in the air, with growing numbers seeking out the simple pleasures offered by the National Trust,” says Fiona Reynolds, director general of the UK-based National Trust. Total visitors received in May were 1.98m, an eight per cent increase from the same month last year. Overall, attendance has climbed 24 per cent so far versus 2008.

“Staycations” in the US seem to be driving attendance at some National Trust properties. “We have anecdotal evidence confirming that people are spending less, staying closer to home and visiting more of our sites,” says James Vaughan, National Trust vice president for historic sites in Washington, DC. But the US National Trust, with a membership of only 250,000, pales in comparison to the British National Trust, which has 3.6m members.

In the US, some artists’ home and sites in a consortium of 36 such National Trust properties are witnessing the biggest bumps in interest. For example, at Chesterwood, the home, studio and gardens of sculptor Daniel Chester French (1850-1931), which are nestled in the Berkshires, Massachusetts, attendance has risen 50 per cent in May alone, reports Chesterwood director Donna Hassler. Visitor numbers to the home and studio of artists Jackson Pollock and Lee Krasner in East Hampton on Long Island rose 20 per cent in the past year. Attendance at the Hudson River School painter Frederic Edwin Church’s Persian-style home Olana has always been steady. “But now it’s up ten per cent compared with last year,” says Olana director Linda McLean. “Because we’ve opened the second floor as well as a new gallery and added a new tour, both new and repeat visitors are coming.” In Darien, Connecticut, visitors to architect Philip Johnson’s Glass House have increased 20 per cent so far compared with 2008.

In the UK, children’s book author and illustrator Beatrix Potter’s home Hill Top in the Lake District wins hands down for highest visitor numbers for any artist or writer’s property. Last year, her home attracted 106,576 visitors compared with 64,584 the previous year (boosted by the 2007 film “Miss Potter”). A UK National Trust spokesperson reports other such homes attracting steep interest, including John Lennon’s childhood home, Mendips in Liverpool, T.E. Lawrence’s home, Clouds Hill in Dorset, and William Morris’s Red House in Surrey.

“Compared to the cost of a theatre or movie ticket, seeing an artist’s home or historic site is a relative bargain,” says Helen Harrison, director of the Pollock-Krasner House in the US. “Plus, the buildings are air-conditioned and a ticket is only $5.” In the UK, Ms Reynolds says that the cost of a National Trust family membership is less than a single day at a theme park.

The recession is having an impact on these properties, however. “Fewer people are renewing at the basic $50 membership level, but at $5,000 and above donors are stepping forward at a time of need,” says Ms Harrison. She reports receiving two $50,000 gifts to acquire adjacent property to the Pollock-Krasner House site.

Quite the opposite is true with Philip Johnson’s Glass House in terms of interest in smaller financial commitments, where there is a 200 per cent increase in lower level donor gifts in the $1,000 and under range. “We were passive before, but now we’re building an entire community by asking literally everyone to support preservation and modernism,” says Glass House executive director Christie MacLear. “Considering that none of the people giving $1,000 and under had ever supported us before, those figures are really compelling,” she says. Unlike luxury stores, heavy-duty shoppers have favoured the Glass House gift shop over the past year, with a 58 per cent increase in sales of books, films, DVDs and T shirts.

However, Ms MacLear is seeing some areas flagging, such as donations at $25,000, $50,000 and $75,000 levels, which have decreased by 50 per cent. “Donors at the upper levels have been hit hard by the stock market and they’re besieged with urgent requests from many other institutions,” she says.

Meanwhile in the UK, the National Trust membership has hit a growth spurt at double the rates of the previous year. So far in 2009, 10,000 new members have been added.

“There’s a recalibration of consumer spending from buying a bigger house or jazzy designer handbag to now focusing on cultural experiences instead,” says Ms MacLear. She has found that visitors characterise the Glass House as “inspiring”. Artists Julian Schnabel, Jasper Johns, Cindy Sherman and Frank Stella have all visited within the past year.

Many high-profile artists have also been visiting the Noguchi Museum in Long Island City, where the modernist sculptor Isamu Noguchi created his own museum. Director Jenny Dixon says: “Artists have always been a core part of our audience. We have established a programme called Intersections, in which artists are invited to give tours of the museum’s collection. Some recent participants in this programme include Joel Shapiro, David Diao, Jene Highstein, Judith Shea and Lynne Yamamoto. And that’s a magnet for visitors. There’s been a huge rise in corporations bringing their creative teams to visit the Glass House,” says Ms MacLear. “When they come, the store sales shoot through the roof.”